Everyone seems to be talking about all of the new 2006 motorcycles coming out but here's one that isn't getting as much coverage and right now it probably should get a lot more. This is the D650A1 Bulldog diesel motorcycle. It isn't quite the sportbike that the Thunder Star would be but then, the Thunder Star isn't being produced yet. The Bulldog is the product of Hayes … [Read more...]
Star Twin responds to Thunder Star questions
We've been trying to sort out all of the numbers being tossed around about the Thunder Star 1200 TDI diesel motorcycle. The more we looked, the less sure we were of anything. Close examination of several magazine writeups revealed different numbers within the same article! For instance, Streetfighters magazine had both 180 kilometers per gallon and 180 miles per gallon, an easy … [Read more...]
Thunder Star Diesel update and questions
Lots of folks (Thanks, Make blog, Real Tech News, Treehugger, Metaefficient and a lot more) picked up on our biodiesel motorcycle post the other day where I mentioned the possibility of combining biodiesel with the performance of the Thunder Star 1200 TDI. It does seem a few misread what I said, I have no idea whether Star Twin has tried or tested biodiesel in their bike. … [Read more...]
Biodiesel motorcycles
When I first started writing about diesel motorcycles it struck me as a bit unusual, I really wasn't aware of some of the latest advances in adapting diesel engines to a motorcycle frame but of course, the Thunder Star 1200 got me thinking about the possibilities. That bike gets 150mpg and looks like it should get pretty impressive performance to boot. Now there's biodiesel to … [Read more...]
TDI Diesel mpg claims may be true
After questioning the 150mpg claims of the Thunder Star TDI sportbike the other day I did a little research on the subject. It seems the TDI technology is pretty popular in Europe and VW claims their 3 cylinder TDI diesel gets 90mpg, and that's in a car! The problem with TDI over here in the states is that the more highly refined low sulfur diesel fuel necessary for these … [Read more...]
150mpg motorcycle?
Just following up on yesterday's post about the Thunder Star because I was rereading that article in Sport Rider. They toss in one statistic that I find pretty amazing, almost to the point of unbelievable. The Thunder Star gets 150mpg! It's in the article and on the cover so it isn't a typo, of course they call it a V-twin on the cover, too, and it's a triple, so... I didn't … [Read more...]